When it comes to optimizing sales, you’ll find a plethora of tips. Efficiently booking appointments is probably not going to be at the top of the list. However, this simple part of the sales journey is critical. How so? Simply put, a sales development rep’s (SDR) ability to efficiently schedule and follow-up with appointments is directly related to conversion.

“Time is money” is not just a cliche. Seventy percent of meetings scheduled within nine days of an initial contact, will take place. However, only 47 percent of meetings scheduled 30 days out will actually take place. Your SDRs’ ability to secure a meeting quickly and easily will directly impact the number of deals that your Account Executives (AE) can close.

Consider adding an appointment scheduling tool to your sales stack. Here are five technologies that can give your B2B SDRs a competitive advantage when it comes to booking appointments.

1. Cadence Tools

In sales, cadence refers to a sequence of activities that reps make to establish contact with prospects. It can include email, phone calls or contact via social media, and it is based on measurements, such as attempts, duration, spacing and content. Simply put, SDRs must keep up with a complicated series of events for each prospect if they want to be effective. Some experts estimate about 46 “touches” are needed per contact. How can sales reps keep up with so many contacts and touches?

Enter cadence tools. They allow reps to track the complex sales sequences needed in today’s market. Every prospect is unique. They have different preferred communication methods, unique times during the day when they are more receptive and respond to different messaging. These minute details can often get lost in a customer relationship management (CRM) solution. A cadence tool gives sales reps the added efficiency and productivity that CRMs lack.

An effective cadence tool will help your SDRs get the right leads at the right time with the right message. They can facilitate email automation, as well as remind reps when it’s time to follow-up. Cadence tools can help SDRs focus their efforts, track and refine the sales process, and be scalable. If you only have a few clients, it’s easy to keep track of them even if you are not the most organized person. However, once your client list begins to grow, things get out of hand easily. A cadence tool helps you to quickly adapt and keep moving without missing a beat.

2. Call Recording

Even though we live in a high-tech world, 65 percent of businesses still consider phone calls to be their most valuable, highest quality source of leads. Using a tool that records calls presents numerous opportunities. Here are two big ones.

• Get all the details. Reps will never miss vital details when they can play a call back. They will not have to ask the prospect to repeat themselves. There’s no need to frantically takes notes. They can easily play the call back, write down and meditate on the prospect’s responses. Those notes can add details that will help reps get the appointments that will close the deal.
• Create coaching opportunities. Monitoring a sales team’s performance and identifying areas of improvement is a challenge for sales managers. Call recording tools give them the opportunity to listen to calls, give one-on-one feedback and share suggestions. Managers can address the ineffective parts of the call, as well as give commendation when reps use best practices.

3. CRM

CRMs provide the ideal home base for SDRs. They are great tools in themselves, but also work seamlessly with many other valuable tools, such as cadence tools. How can an effective CRM help book more appointments? They hold vital data needed to contact prospects. In addition to basic contact information, CRMs store all activities and scheduled plans in one place. Most are mobile, allowing uninterrupted access from multiple locations or while your reps are on-the-go. Data is never lost or out of reach.

CRMs help reps organize and optimize their daily schedule and prioritize tasks, so that prospects are never ignored or forgotten about. The data available within the CRM also helps reps segment and identify valuable opportunities, so they can spend time following up on prospects that are most likely to book an appointment.

4. LinkedIn Sales Navigator

LinkedIn’s Sales Navigator is a sales management tool that allows reps to tap into LinkedIn’s extensive network. In addition to helping them find leads, LinkedIn Sales Navigator is a great research tool. Know when to follow-up and book an appointment. This tool helps reps track key events, such as job changes, when new decision makers come in and when companies win funding. It helps SDRs reach the right people within the right organizations.

Best of all, it integrates with your CRM. Reps can automatically save leads and Sales Navigator activity to their CRM. This effective tool helps reps manage their pipeline by ensuring that nothing falls through the cracks. Use advanced searches. Save leads. Create custom account lists. Add notes and tags to certain accounts. And, gain powerful sales insights.

5. Calendar App

Don’t waste time going back and forth via email or the phone to try to nail down a time to meet. Make it easy for appointments to be made and automatically appear on the calendar with a calendar app. An automated scheduling tool allows SDRs to set their availability and preferences, and share them with prospects via an easy link. The prospect can choose the open slot that works for them.

These apps easily sync with the calendar of your choice. You can set choices for time duration, as well, if you want to give your prospects an option. Quit playing phone tag and impress your clients. They will appreciate the ease-of-use as much as you will.

B2B is Unique

B2B selling is unique. It can involve months of calling, negotiating, appointment setting and meetings. The stakes are high, and so are expectations. Give your SDRs a competitive edge by implementing tools that will help them land that critical appointment. Vendor Neutral is committed to simplifying the SalesTech selection process. Not sure what tools are best? Try our Simple Stack Selector for free.